I'm on my way home on the MUP. I've just started picking up speed after negotiating a tight spot. There's a 15 YO girl coming towards me down the trail, and as I get close, she looks me right in the eye and says in a friendly voice, "Hello!"

I'm somewhat surprised at this behavior - I'm 47 and not THAT good-looking. As I start to compose my features into a smile and prepare a friendly rejoinder, I'm still feeling something wrong about this.

Then I notice that although her eyes are looking directly into mine, they're not focused.

Then I see the Bluetooth

Boy, THAT was close.

I hate those damn things...

Aaahhahahahaha. I thought you were going to tell me that she was a diversion for a mugging!!!

That's funny.

I saw a guy in the store having a heated conversation with a display of cans. I watched for about a minute, thinking this is the craziest dude I've seen in a while. Then he turned around and I saw the blue tooth thingy. I didn't know if that was funny or annoying. Kinda rude of him though.

Bluetooth is yet more proof that human beings are lazy creatures. And we also hate to associate with the people around us.

Over the summer I worked at our local minor league ball park. I constantly saw people walking around with those things in their ears. You're kidding me! You actually need to be sure that you are in constant communication with the world when taking your 7 year old to a ball game!!! Aren't you there to spend quality time with your kid??? (By 'you' I mean them... not you personally)

Good one. I had a few of those scenarios. Quite something.

I don't like them at all. How are we suppose to tell who's really nuts now?

Yeah, the cans really hated it.

All I know is that if I were working as a cashier these days, the ground at my feet would be littered with little, broken, very expensive pieces of wireless gear.

It's as if people couldn't get ruder with cell phones and shopping, and now with the bluetooth headsets it's like people completely lose touch with their surroundings. So now they are rude and look completely insane.

I dunno, I tried just a plain wired thingy for riding or driving, and that is safer than talking in motion, but now I'm back to pulling over. I just can't deal with walking/riding around while talking out loud into thin air. I'm crazy enough without any enhancing accessories...

It is time for another round of "Crazy or Cell Phone?"!

Well, they drive the same either way.

My last sys admin job included one of those bluetooth jackasses, the head of the sales team, who would walk into a room with a loud "hello!" After the first couple times taking the trouble to figure out if he was speaking to me or someone on his phone I just ignored him until he got right up to my desk, whereupon I'd get the lovely details of some silly problem with his wireless keyboard or somesuch. Bleh.

my favorite are the people who wear them as a fashion accessory as well as a cell phone device. One time while on a road trip i stopped by a wendy's and there was a family and both the mom and the dad had one in, the dad had one in each ear! My mind blew up right there.

Borg! Fully assimilated.

Hey, I like my blue tooth. How else would I be able to keep typing on BFs with my wife on the phone thinking I am listening to every word she says.

"OK, uh hu, right, You sure ..."

That is the only time I use it though.

That's it - right there!

Hahaha! Good one!

For people like me, others using such devices lets me not be so conspicously nuts, provided that nobody notices that I am not wearing one.

It makes me howl that human beings have lost appendages of yore such as daggers and swords only to replace them with bluetooth earrings. Impressive.

Still, the scene you experienced is all too familiar. And funny.

I don't mind people who use them while driving (it's not perfect, but at least they're not fumbling with something in their hands)...but I'm just amazed at how many people will continue to carry on a conversation with someone on the phone while dealing with a cashier or food service person. It's just rude.

I was in Chipotle, and as usual, things go like clockwork - the guy in front of me had a BT earpiece, and was just yakking away, and the folks behind the counter had to keep trying to get his attention. Now, Chipotle isn't like the Soup Nazi (it's the customers that will throw you out if you slow the line down)....but he kept going back to the conversation every time.

By the time he got to the toppings, they asked him (AGAIN) what he wanted, and between grunts and nods (still talking full speed on the phone), he stopped and said - NO CORN! I DON'T EAT CORN!

The folks behind the counter were gracious, threw the item out, and started over - but the guy on the phone said to the person on the other end of the conversation, "Man, they messed up my order AGAIN! They're always messin' up my order."

If it were me, i'd be doing more than messing up his order.

I will say there is one "good" thing about Bluetooth headsets: if you're the type of person who talks to themselves (like me, and no, I'm not insane, just a little crazy ), it's the perfect excuse. People look at you, see the Bluetooth, and assume you're talking to someone at the other end.

Or, you're a Borg.

I got mine for driving. Then I got a convertible Miata. The road and wind noise make it impossible to hear anything on the bluetooth, so it's just collecting dust.

If you thought the counter staff was "gracious," you should see what the kitchen staff graced his order with!

If someone walks up to me and starts conversing, I reciprocate. I will usually respond to "Hello" with "Hey, how ya doing?" I mean, isn't that basic human interaction?

We were at a restaurant last night eating outside when a carload of college girls pulled up. The driver, who was about four feet behind me, started yelling questions at us about whether we wanted to ride with them to the movies. We politely declined. Upon further reflection, they may have been intending to communicate with their friends at another table. But how was I to be certain? Better safe than sorry!

Personally, if I could, I wouldn't even have a cell phone. I can't stand the damned things. The only reason I have one in fact, is because all of my calls are long distance, and it's cheaper to get a family plan with my girlfriend (~$35/mo) than it would be to use long distance on a home phone. It always stays at home though, unless I'm driving distances or some such.

I tell my students that, and they're like "yeah, well what if you break down on the way to school or something?" well, I'd better start either fixing the problem or walking. It boggles my mind that only 25 or so years after they went public with cell phone technology, the "next generation" doesn't even have a clue as to how to live without it.

Don't even get me started on texting - it takes you 20 minutes to type something up that would have taken 2 minutes to call someone up, say "hey, your ass looks huge today" and hang up again. Honestly, what the hell?

And those bluetooth thingies - seriously? Now, with driving, I can "kinda" see it, but just walking around? you are SO freakin' lazy that you can't even hold a 3 oz phone to your ear? But my favorite is the people that are talking on a phone or bluetooth when they're at a restaurant, or ordering at a meat counter or something. hang up the frickin' phone and talk to me like a human being, ya jackass.


/rant

I saw a Mexican "Candid Camera" type show where they had a guy on a cell phone go around and start saying offensive things to people (like, near a food stand, telling fat people to stop eating so much) and when they turned and looked, he would continue the imaginary phone conversation like it was just a coincidence and had nothing to do with them... cruel but hilarious...

Me like.

I was fueling the car one day. I bike commute, the wife drives, but I get to fill the car with gas. I haven't quite figured out how that works yet, but as long as she keeps the yard mowed I'm not complaining. Anyway, I'm not paying much attention to the guy on the other side of the gas pump fueling his car. Until he says, "Hi."

Me: "Hi, how's it goin'?"

Then I realize he's on the 'phone.

Bluetooth? A friend of mine at work has that. When I needed to replace my old cell phone he was telling me about this great plan he has through whatever company. I made the mistake of asking how much his set up cost. I was, still am, paying less for a year, than what he's paying for a month. Much less to get started, and I'm not tied to a multi-year contract.